Have now had a few weeks of riding to and from work
with some longer rides on weekends. Probably have about 1000 km on the bike
now. No real problems to report. The suspension on the rear wheels seems to
work very well. It is a very simple system of a composite spring that controls
the up and down motion of the wheels while a part the the shell with a few
layers of graphite fiber keeps everything in alignment. This system with a
bit of additonal refinement might only add a pound to the weight. It is now
a bit difficult to go back to the Vision recumbent as the velomobile has a
smoother ride over bumps and lousy road surfaces. The suspension also helps
to keeps the shell from rattling and making a lot of noise. To check this
out I rode to Pitt Lake, a unique fresh water tidal lake, which has about
15 km of a very rough surface having been cheaply paved about 25 years ago
and not resurfaced since. Got a little vibration from the road but it was
tolerable. I would normally avoid this road. You don't see many road bikes
with skinny tires on it. The real surprise was when I hit the smooth pavement
and the speed went up 5 km/hr with no extra effort.

Have also added electric assist to the velomobile.
It is a Heinzmann hub motor added to the front wheel. The electric assist
cuts out at about 22-24 km/hr so it is only really useful when climbing. It
has shortened the ride home by about 10-15 minutes. I do notice that I am
actually working harder using the assist to keep the speed up as the system
seems to provide the most boost around 20 km/hr. On the couple of really steep
bits it probably at least doubles the speed but I am still going pretty slow.
Having the electric assist has removed the temptation to get a ride home after
work when tired.

I have proceeded to change the plug/pattern one more
time. It has become a bit longer and slimmer in the front to accomodate taller
riders(should fit at least 200 cm) and have room for a headlight in the nose.
There is now a bit more space inside the fairing to accomodate big feet. Wider
at the top of the pedal stroke. The back end has been extended a bit and the
storage volume increased a bit. Just looking at the space behind the seat
I would guess about 60-70 liters of volume.There is quite a bit of storage
room beside and just in front of the cyclist on the floor so you can balance
loading of the velomobile. This seems a bit less critical than what I am used
to doing in our touring kayaks. Will also add an easy way to adjust the seat
so one can fine tune the fit and balance. At present it takes about ten minutes
to adjust/remove the seat. Have just finished laying up the new mould and
now need to finish sand and polish the inside surface. Once this is done to
the bottom half of the mould I can start on the interior beam/spring assemble
onto which all the bike parts bolt. This whole assemble will then be glued
to the bottom half of the shell.

I am now on the fourth version of the seat and it is
quite comfortable. The best compromise on the seat may be a hard back with
a mesh or at least slighlty flexible bottom. I like the hard back as you can
really push off of it. I have been experimenting with a softer pad for the
butt as the seat is fairly upright and a fair bit of weight is concentrated
there. I have noticed that when pushing hard most of the weight is transferred
to the back. Reclining the seat more would also help take some of the weight
off the seat but with the present verson I am limited by not being able to
move the bottom bracket further foward. I just fit as it is and with a thick
back pad the lenght is a bit short.

The door for getting in and out has been changed a bit. It is now not so
tall for stepping out. Getting in should be possible by standing beside the
velomobile and then flopping on the seat and lifting the legs in afterwards.
Having watched a few people get in and out and this is a bit of an issue for
a lot of folks. It was suggested making the door completely removeable for
warm weather riding. I tried it out just leaving the door open and it is cooler
and a much different experience. This idea is worth trying out of the next
one. As are now using a composite hinge for the door this would only require
that we make the hinge such that it is bolted on rather than bonded permanently
in place.

Rode home today with the foam cover in place as it was raining a bit. Air
vents out around the cover but it may be useful to have an openable vent at
the back of the shell to increase air flow. The cover is reasonalbly effective
at keeping you dry but does restrict ventilation. I have cut a couple of vent
holes in the nose but would like to add a bigger vent that is easy to reach
to open and close for use when climbing slowly. Once your speed is around
20 km the presently sized openings seem to be enough. The warmest it has been
is about 24 degrees which was still quite tolerable.